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Saturday, 22 November 2014

Singularity - S/T (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 23/9/2014

Label: Self Released

‘Singularity’ DD track listing:

1). A Withdrawal of Salivation (02:53)

2). Remnant of Stellar Evolution (02:30

3). Spacetime Devourment (05:42)

4). Monolith (07:09)

5). Throne of Thorns (05:53)

6). Desert Planet (07:17)

7). Utopian Flesh (05:03)

8). The Descent (04:46)

9). The Ascension (03:44)

10). The Resolution (06:33)

The Band:

John Low | Drums, vocals

Nick Pompliano | Keyboards

Jack Fliegler | Vocals, guitars

Adam King | Bass

Review:

This self titled album from Singularity, which means it’s titled ‘Singularity’, is quite the piece of metal as well as having the honour of being the first release from this Arizona based band. Herein lies compatible genres: Gothic, Black, Progressive, and Death metals, all formed into one aggressive and slick package. Think Between the Buried and Me through Cradle of Filth. The album art is very much either King Diamond or Mortician-esque, with a lovely scene out of a very artistic nightmare. You have classics like fog, a rickety damn bridge, a mountain doing its best silent brooding act, a chasm of jagged protrusions, and its all at night, making me want to find a way through other than that bridge. Great stuff, and fits well with the overall motif Singularity is going for.

"But how does it sound?!” I can pretend to hear you shout. You really shouldn't do that at a computer screen, makes you look really crazy. Moving on, the album starts out, kind of like you expect with the above genres, a dark, elegant, almost classical sound, with metal guitars and a sweet double kick going. ‘A Withdrawal of Salvation’ is a pretty short foray to open the album. The band is just getting warmed up however, and differs from several stalwarts by actually recognizing they have a BASSIST. Crazy, right? He is really in the mix, sounding more progressive than any of these genres are known, and he fleshes the sound out nicely. The record does play a little bland from time to time, but that's kind of the other side of the coin. They rely on several tricks of the trade for how fast they play, and for what they play. Most of it has been done before, It does have a very gothic atmosphere, similar to a Cradle of Filth record, and they have an organ or piano, most likely just a good keyboardist, who creates a fairly haunting atmosphere. Its a nicely wrapped package, and is a credit to the genre(s). A really nice touch is allowing the keyboard and guitars to flip who sets what pace and sound, example being in ‘Throne of Thorns’, where you have the guitars and keys slamming chords in sync, providing a jarring harmony. It's quite well orchestrated.

Vocally, the growler sounds quite a bit like the more heavy songs from BTBAM, and fluctuates between growl and what sounds like rubbing steel wool on stone. The break up between the two keeps the songs from bleeding into one another, and does a pretty good job of highlighting the band as well. They aren't really breaking any moulds, but are forming new angles within theirs, and it shows quite a bit of potential. Hopefully the next album will up the ante, and show us something we haven't beheld yet!

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